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  3. Auburn U., Auburn
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Auburn U., Auburn

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2021 68 15.8 448 154 27 583 100 11.8 909
2020 72 16.6 450 100 11.7 915
2019 76 17.6 447 152 26.4 589 105 12.3 913
2018 76 18.4 428 109 12.8 910
2017 67 16.4 425 145 25.8 575 113 13.4 897
2016 73 17.6 430 126 14.8 895
2015 72 17.5 426 160 28.7 570 130 15.2 897
2014 71 17.5 422 125 14.9 887
2013 75 18.6 417 140 24.4 588 124 14.8 884
2012 65 16.4 412 130 15.3 892
NOTES:
  • 1. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
  • 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
  • 3. Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.
Data sources
Download all tables in Excel formatzip file.

Data

Number of earned doctorates, by major field of study of recipients: 2021–12
Fields 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
All fields 250    269    253    253    284    270    257    250    236    248   
  Science and engineering 179    203    189    193    201    188    184    191    184    181   
    Science 128    141    124    131    136    123    123    135    131    129   
      Life science 64    75    71    69    63    63    51    75    66    54   
        Agricultural sciences 19    15    24    26    24    25    20    32    26    19   
        Biological sciences 31    37    20    27    29    30    20    31    27    25   
        Health sciences 14    23    27    16    10    8    11    12    13    10   
      Physical sciences and earth sciences 19    18    18    15    16    6    4    18    20    16   
        Chemistry 12    8    14    4    6    4    3    10    13    8   
        Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 1    4    1    2    .    1    .    2    1    1   
        Physics and astronomy 6    6    3    9    10    1    1    6    6    7   
      Mathematics and computer sciences 19    20    13    13    18    16    27    20    24    25   
        Computer sciences 5    6    3    5    6    7    13    8    8    13   
        Mathematics 14    14    10    8    12    9    14    12    16    12   
      Psychology and social sciences 26    28    22    34    39    38    41    22    21    34   
        Psychology 22    18    17    26    30    28    27    15    14    23   
        Economics 2    6    3    5    7    6    3    4    2    4   
        Political science and government .    3    .    1    2    2    6    1    1    4   
        Other social sciences 2    1    2    2    .    2    5    2    4    3   
    Engineering 51    62    65    62    65    65    61    56    53    52   
      Aeronautical/astronautical engineering 5    2    1    3    2    3    3    1    1    1   
      Biological/biomedical sciences 3    1    1    3    3    1    2    1    .    .   
      Chemical engineering 10    6    12    12    11    12    5    15    5    14   
      Civil engineering 3    8    8    5    7    4    4    4    6    2   
      Electrical engineering 7    7    8    9    12    17    11    8    12    11   
      Industrial engineering 5    13    12    12    6    6    4    6    7    3   
      Materials/metallurgical engineering 4    4    2    2    2    5    2    5    6    6   
      Mechanical engineering 8    14    10    12    9    6    13    11    4    7   
      Other engineering 6    7    11    4    13    11    17    5    12    8   
  Non-science and engineering 71    66    64    60    83    82    73    59    52    67   
    Education 52    46    45    42    57    62    45    50    33    53   
      Education administration 11    8    8    6    19    11    10    8    10    14   
      Education research 5    14    16    24    15    23    25    20    13    25   
      Teacher education 14    15    11    7    11    17    5    9    2    8   
      Teaching fields 18    8    8    1    7    5    5    12    6    5   
      Other education 4    1    2    4    5    6    .    1    2    1   
    Humanities 7    6    8    5    14    11    16    6    7    6   
      Foreign languages & literature .    .    .    .    .    1    .    .    .    .   
      History 6    3    6    3    6    2    9    3    4    4   
      Letters 1    2    2    2    7    8    7    3    3    2   
      Other humanities and arts .    1    .    .    1    .    .    .    .    .   
    Other 12    14    11    13    12    9    12    3    12    8   
      Business management/administration 7    7    6    9    7    5    11    2    7    3   
      Fields not elsewhere classified (nec) 5    7    5    4    5    4    1    1    5    5   

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates

Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2021–12
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
  All R&D fields 266,374        255,281        231,619        212,925        190,340        152,381        135,899        142,487        147,229        133,013       
    Science 150,674        150,910        140,109        128,417        110,695        103,839        92,721        93,847        91,873        84,852       
      Computer and information sciences 5,127        5,006        4,368        2,653        1,799        1,331        0        0        240        10       
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 4,008        3,460        2,690        2,171        3,820        2,633        3,461        2,988        2,386        2,092       
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0        62        61        78        59        112        117        151        44        84       
        Geological and earth sciences 2,241        2,513        1,823        1,068        1,690        757        858        543        1,095        970       
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0        0        0        2        190        186        352        240        70        104       
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, not elsewhere classified 1,767        885        806        1,023        1,881        1,578        2,134        2,054        1,177        934       
      Life sciences 111,491        110,768        104,935        101,567        85,135        85,307        75,745        77,333        75,569        68,894       
        Agricultural sciences 70,134        72,560        54,306        55,526        47,872        58,753        56,845        56,182        55,449        52,598       
        Biological and biomedical sciences 14,099        15,224        13,317        11,229        10,317        12,248        6,975        6,732        7,508        5,109       
        Health sciences 15,343        10,995        28,160        26,623        20,321        6,358        9,377        12,257        9,995        8,766       
        Natural resources and conservation 986        1,143        1,280        3,101        0        0        0        0        0        0       
        Life sciences, not elsewhere classified 10,929        10,846        7,872        5,088        6,625        7,948        2,548        2,162        2,617        2,421       
      Mathematics and statistics 3,471        3,736        3,706        662        3,094        381        308        645        329        532       
      Physical sciences 15,214        15,247        13,220        11,626        9,622        6,415        4,678        5,770        5,847        5,363       
        Astronomy and astrophysics 22        0        0        0        0        0        0        6        29        37       
        Chemistry 5,463        7,222        6,440        4,298        4,441        1,645        1,558        2,547        1,682        1,556       
        Materials science 425        60        15        0        74        0        0        0        0        0       
        Physics 9,147        7,842        6,710        7,303        5,107        4,767        3,120        3,217        4,135        3,761       
        Physical sciences, not elsewhere classified 157        123        55        25        0        3        0        0        1        9       
      Psychology 3,137        2,824        2,457        1,871        1,572        452        390        447        508        600       
      Social sciences 6,228        6,902        5,387        5,940        4,619        4,217        2,838        3,970        3,482        3,278       
        Anthropology 0        1        6        5        0        2        0        0        0        0       
        Economics 160        1,463        40        1,664        164        1,373        181        93        44        109       
        Political science and government 1,640        1,543        1,661        1,115        736        521        0        2        5        0       
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 721        545        359        290        46        0        13        4        4        6       
        Social sciences, not elsewhere classified 3,707        3,350        3,321        2,866        3,673        2,321        2,644        3,871        3,429        3,163       
      Sciences, not elsewhere classified 1,998        2,967        3,346        1,927        1,034        3,103        5,301        2,694        3,512        4,083       
    Engineering 78,720        70,593        59,742        56,233        56,657        45,572        40,249        46,263        51,672        45,370       
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 4,196        3,723        3,250        1,574        1,677        727        373        503        636        1,171       
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 1,019        1,206        1,110        4,186        773        919        1,322        5,010        1,179        7,314       
      Chemical engineering 9,320        7,466        6,733        5,858        6,198        4,749        4,749        5,741        6,735        5,246       
      Civil engineering 11,869        9,482        8,655        9,515        6,998        3,142        3,973        7,696        6,981        5,981       
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 10,771        9,695        9,157        6,809        5,601        4,262        5,386        5,742        9,307        7,624       
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 6,100        4,338        4,593        3,103        2,196        798        0        0        0        0       
      Mechanical engineering 21,501        19,199        12,747        10,884        10,021        6,450        4,239        5,471        6,343        4,774       
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 564        522        656        2,156        456        1,207        1,175        809        1,608        1,445       
      Engineering not elsewhere classified 13,380        14,962        12,841        12,148        22,737        23,318        19,032        15,291        18,883        11,815       
    Non-S&E 36,980        33,778        31,768        28,275        22,988        2,970        2,929        2,377        3,684        2,791       
      Business management and business administration 15,167        14,782        15,146        11,569        8,293        1,614        1,830        1,419        2,492        1,483       
      Communication and communications technologies 992        1,018        1,024        0        0        0        0        0        0        0       
      Education 3,968        4,190        3,649        2,441        3,173        1,299        1,065        925        1,147        1,305       
      Humanities 6,812        7,030        7,303        4,728        5,694        57        34        28        45        3       
      Law 0        1        0        0        0        0        0        5        0        0       
      Social work 423        205        39        29        0        0        0        0        0        0       
      Visual and performing arts 1        0        62        1,354        0        0        0        0        0        0       
      Non-S&E, not elsewhere classified 9,617        6,552        4,545        8,154        5,828        0        0        0        0        0       

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Total R&D expenditures, by source of funds and R&D field: 2021
(Dollars in thousands)
Field All R&D expenditures Federal government State and local government Institution funds Business Nonprofit organizations All other sources
  All R&D fields 266,374        91,157        28,351        130,767        6,492        1,818        7,789       
    Science 150,674        50,098        26,536        64,514        3,882        1,330        4,314       
      Computer and information sciences 5,127        2,151        0        2,768        61        1        146       
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 4,008        1,675        162        1,769        13        106        283       
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0        0        0        0        0        0        0       
        Geological and earth sciences 2,241        699        0        1,498        0        0        44       
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0        0        0        0        0        0        0       
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, not elsewhere classified 1,767        976        162        271        13        106        239       
      Life sciences 111,491        35,103        25,745        42,353        3,446        1,183        3,661       
        Agricultural sciences 70,134        18,928        23,509        21,681        2,906        753        2,357       
        Biological and biomedical sciences 14,099        5,996        792        6,096        420        398        397       
        Health sciences 15,343        1,261        994        12,389        0        2        697       
        Natural resources and conservation 986        360        0        472        120        9        25       
        Life sciences, not elsewhere classified 10,929        8,558        450        1,715        0        21        185       
      Mathematics and statistics 3,471        395        0        3,075        0        0        1       
      Physical sciences 15,214        6,649        6        8,148        347        31        33       
        Astronomy and astrophysics 22        19        0        3        0        0        0       
        Chemistry 5,463        1,645        0        3,667        148        0        3       
        Materials science 425        360        0        65        0        0        0       
        Physics 9,147        4,549        0        4,389        156        31        22       
        Physical sciences, not elsewhere classified 157        76        6        24        43        0        8       
      Psychology 3,137        510        106        2,496        15        9        1       
      Social sciences 6,228        2,819        502        2,836        0        0        71       
        Anthropology 0        0        0        0        0        0        0       
        Economics 160        10        1        149        0        0        0       
        Political science and government 1,640        5        61        1,505        0        0        69       
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 721        113        0        608        0        0        0       
        Social sciences, not elsewhere classified 3,707        2,691        440        574        0        0        2       
      Sciences, not elsewhere classified 1,998        796        15        1,069        0        0        118       
    Engineering 78,720        40,288        1,043        32,286        2,286        289        2,528       
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 4,196        2,098        0        1,827        195        0        76       
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 1,019        142        54        762        58        0        3       
      Chemical engineering 9,320        3,806        81        5,179        88        51        115       
      Civil engineering 11,869        5,034        441        5,923        123        91        257       
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 10,771        4,737        0        4,569        630        0        835       
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 6,100        3,515        0        2,302        57        14        212       
      Mechanical engineering 21,501        12,943        50        7,042        821        26        619       
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 564        164        0        331        0        0        69       
      Engineering not elsewhere classified 13,380        7,849        417        4,351        314        107        342       
    Non-S&E 36,980        771        772        33,967        324        199        947       
      Business management and business administration 15,167        40        0        14,285        317        0        525       
      Communication and communications technologies 992        0        0        992        0        0        0       
      Education 3,968        296        0        3,428        7        199        38       
      Humanities 6,812        186        0        6,542        0        0        84       
      Law 0        0        0        0        0        0        0       
      Social work 423        0        0        423        0        0        0       
      Visual and performing arts 1        0        0        1        0        0        0       
      Non-S&E, not elsewhere classified 9,617        249        772        8,296        0        0        300       

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2021–12
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Federal Agencies 91,157        73,468        64,333        58,488        55,700        54,751        48,352        50,088        57,253        55,557       
  DOD 18,413        10,945        10,592        7,600        6,463        5,059        5,984        7,501        9,794        11,556       
  DOE 6,372        5,006        3,838        3,095        2,844        2,246        2,031        2,110        2,486        3,693       
  HHS 15,778        16,001        13,272        12,810        11,446        10,571        8,506        7,975        8,760        9,148       
  NASA 6,492        6,019        2,616        1,636        1,583        1,275        1,731        1,841        1,639        1,275       
  NSF 10,226        9,435        9,361        9,239        9,072        8,664        8,117        9,465        9,305        8,718       
  USDA 18,227        12,104        10,176        11,433        10,689        10,513        11,597        10,289        11,919        11,772       
  Other 15,649        13,958        14,478        12,675        13,603        16,423        10,386        10,907        13,350        9,395       

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Headcount of R&D personnel: 2021–15 [temporarily discontinued]
Year All personnel Principal investigators Other personnel Postdocs
2021 .    .        .        .       
2020 .    .        .        .       
2019 4,200    1,200        3,000        .       
2018 2,380    976        1,404        .       
2017 2,229    733        1,496        .       
2016 1,690    551        1,139        .       
2015 2,275    425        1,850        85       

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2021–12
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field 2021 2019 2017 2015 2013
  All research space 416    389    440    355    406   
    Agricultural sciences 104    91    101    99    79   
    Biological and biomedical sciences 22    22    18    12    22   
    Computer and information sciences 9    7    8    8    0   
    Engineering 164    112    121    122    183   
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 1    3    7    2    2   
    Health sciences 16    49    72    51    59   
    Mathematics and statistics 0    0    1    0    0   
    Natural resources and conservation 48    51    53    4    .   
    Physical sciences 48    50    56    53    55   
    Psychology 4    4    4    4    5   
    Social sciences 0    0    0    0    0   
    Other 0    0    0    0    0   

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

New construction of science and engineering research space, by field and time of construction: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field Planned to start in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017 Started in FY 2014 or FY 2015
  All research space 5,000    32,472    94,244    2,475    15,600   
    Agricultural sciences 5,000    .    94,244    .    .   
    Engineering .    32,472    .    .    .   
    Health sciences .    .    .    2,475    15,600   

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

Costs for repair and renovation of science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field and time of repair and renovation: 2023–14
(Dollars in thousands)
Field Planned to start in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017 Started in FY 2014 or FY 2015
  All research space 0    0    0    22,388    1,714   
    Agricultural sciences 0    0    0    0    464   
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0    0    0    0    0   
    Computer and information sciences 0    0    0    0    0   
    Engineering 0    0    0    16,750    1,250   
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0    0    0    0    0   
    Health sciences 0    0    0    2,300    0   
    Mathematics and statistics 0    0    0    0    0   
    Natural resources and conservation 0    0    0    0    0   
    Physical sciences 0    0    0    3,338    0   
    Psychology 0    0    0    0    0   
    Social sciences 0    0    0    0    0   
    Other 0    0    0    0    0   

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

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